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Brunei again plans to execute gays

The tiny Muslim-majority country of Brunei in Southeast Asia is preparing to put into effect a law providing the death sentence for gay sex and adultery. That law has been on hold since it was passed in 2013.

Location of Brunei on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia (Map courtesy of Wikipedia)

The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, supports laws inspired by a harshly punitive version of Islam.

HONG KONG — When Brunei announced in 2013 that it was bringing in harsh Islamic laws that included punishments of death by stoning for adultery and gay sex, the move was met with international protest. Some investments by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, were targets of boycotts and calls for divestment.

Following the outcry, Brunei, a sultanate of about 430,000 on the island of Borneo, delayed carrying out the harshest provisions of its Shariah law. Now, it is quietly going ahead with them.

Under the laws about to come into effect, a person can be convicted of adultery or having gay sex only if there are multiple Muslim witnesses. The law will apply to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, although some offenses, such as apostasy, apply specifically to Muslims, who make up about two-thirds of Brunei’s population.

In 2014, protesters supporting both LGBT rights and women’s rights joined comedian Jay Leno in calling for people to boycott the Beverly Hills Hotel unless its ultimate owner, the Sultan of Brunei, reversed course on the harsh law that now is scheduled to take effect in April 2019.